grace and imperfection

Broken Angels (Christmas Visions Part 3)

The angel in this post’s picture is an angel we have had in our home for over ten years. This angel has survived many moves and the toddler years of my children. She has not come out unscathed.

In fact, in our most recent move, she broke in half. We could not bear to part with her, so she is balanced ever so carefully on the shelf so that she appears to be in one piece still.

You see where I’m going with this don’t you. It is hard not to because so many of you know broken angels…or you are a broken angel.

If you have been living long enough you have been through situations that have felt like life is on the move and taking you along for the ride, throwing you into boxes crammed up against others, possibly being tossed just a little too hard in the process of transition.

There is also the normal wear and tear of daily living- a demanding job, the never ending chores of the home, the responsibility to keep others fed, educated, enriched, and emotionally secure. These are rewarding, worthwhile pursuits that bring great joy- and maybe a touch of exhaustion.

Don’t forget the people or moments in life that feel like a small child playing too rough with a decorative angel on a shelf.

So, now, many of you are, like my broken angel, balanced ever so precariously to appear to be whole, desperately trying not to fall down or look as fragile as you are.

I know, my angel friends, life is tough. We need some super glue to put us back together. I want so desperately to be that super glue when I listen to the things that are shared with me in my ministry role. However, my listening ear and my practical support are not enough. I cannot be the glue. You cannot be the glue either. We can help the angel balance on the shelf, but we cannot make what is broken whole again.

Whether you are the broken angel or the one with the angels around you, there is one answer. We can put some pieces back together on our own, but we need God’s healing touch, his grace, and his love to be the super glue that keeps us together.

Isn’t that what Christmas is about? The celebration of God sending his son to undo the separation. Jesus is the glue. He is the thing holding together what was broken in the garden of Eden. He is the one waiting to hold the broken angels of this world together.

Dear angels, I hope you will allow some glue into your lives this season. Life is not meant to be spent high on a shelf hoping no one will bump you. Let yourself be glued back together so you can join the mess of living without falling to pieces.

Give the gift of super glue this season. It was the original Christmas gift.